


Moonlight Forest

by Gilbird14



Category: I Medici | Medici: Masters of Florence (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Perfumery AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:34:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21782257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilbird14/pseuds/Gilbird14
Summary: "He is coming again! On time as always. Today is your chance!""What?""Oh c'mon! Go! You will miss him.""Don't push me, Bianca!"
Relationships: Lorenzo "Il Magnifico" de' Medici/Francesco de' Pazzi
Comments: 4
Kudos: 60





	Moonlight Forest

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I’m so happy to finally post this Perfumery AU, because I’ve been struggling with it since mid-September. There were moments when I thought this story would never be finished as I was stuck in repeated occasions. I hope you’ll like it! :)
> 
> I got this idea while I was going for a walk in the shopping district. I saw a young man, who looked a bit like Daniel, and a young woman outside of a perfumery handing out coupons to pedestrians. They were wearing a white shirt, brown trousers and a light brown apron with the name of the perfumery embroidered on it. Then, I knew I had to write something with the Medici siblings in this scenario. The other reason is because we had almost zero moments with the three of them together, which is a mistake in my opinion. I also couldn’t resist using one of Matteo’s photoshoots as inspiration for Francesco’s outfit. Specifically this [one](https://bit.ly/2rIOIYT).

"He is coming again! On time as always. Today is your chance!"

"What?"

"Oh c'mon! Go! You will miss him."

"Don't push me, Bianca!"

It was just another typical day at the Medici Perfumery. Everyday always at the same time Lorenzo's crush passed in front of their shop on his way to work. Lorenzo knew it, so he took advantage of that fact. Fifteen minutes before the man appeared, two of the Medici sibling gave free samples of their new fragrances to pedestrians. It had been Bianca's plan. She had the romantic idea of Lorenzo giving a perfume sample to his crush. Then, they would start talking, they would exchange their telephone numbers and, eventually, they would go on a date. That was why Lorenzo was usually on the street at that exact time. If Bianca was with him, she would try her best to help her brother and cheer for him. On the other hand, if it was Giuliano, well, he would just complain about Lorenzo's bad taste in men. He could tolerate his brother's choices with women. His last two more-or-less serious girlfriends were kind, clever and beautiful women. They didn't last much together though. But, according to Giuliano, Lorenzo was a total disaster with men.

The Medici Perfumery was founded by the siblings' great-grandfather, but it wasn't until their grandfather Cosimo ran it that it became popular. Their perfumes were highly regarded by everyone in Florence. Despite having new fragrances, they still sold the most classic ones. They were their history and honour. The vast majority of them were created by their grandmother, Contessina, who had a natural gift for it. Excellence, delicacy and good taste emanated from her creations, which were sold with ease by his husband. Now, the shop was run by the three Medici siblings under the supervision of Lucrezia, their mother.

Everything began one day that Lorenzo was cleaning the shop window. An elegant pedestrian went past the store. Lorenzo swore that he was the most beautiful man he had ever seen in his entire life. He felt tempted to do something more than looking, but he knew the chances of seeing him again were almost zero. So, he continued fulfilling his duties. He had work to do. The following week, Lorenzo was wrapping a gift for a costumer, when he saw him on the street again. The elegant man appeared out of nowhere everyday around the same time. This meant that Lorenzo ended up seeing the man more often than he expected after all, which was a good thing for him, but his siblings ended up noticing his increasing "distractions". What was he supposed to do? That man was the personification of beauty. He couldn't help watching him walk by! It wasn't like Lorenzo did it on purpose! That man was like a magnet. He couldn't do anything! He was defenceless!

Giuliano and Bianca were tired of Lorenzo's frequents sighs. Usually their brother didn't have any kind of problem to talk to people and bewitch them with his charms as Giuliano had put it once. However, this time Lorenzo was acting very different. He only looked at the man walk by from the other side of the window just to sigh loudly afterwards. Everything was very dramatic and pointless according to Giuliano, but, in Bianca's opinion, it felt like living in a romance novel. One day after closing hours, they ended up making an intervention for Lorenzo where they urged him to act on his feelings and stop sighing dramatically. First, Lorenzo tried to deny everything, but the serious faces of both Medici in front of him told him that there was no escaping it. Despite being extremely embarrassed about the whole situation, but mostly due to being found out, he finally confessed that maybe he did have a crush on that gorgeous man.

Weeks passed, but no significant advance had been made. Lorenzo had exited the perfumery several times to greet the man, but he was always stopped by someone: an old lady asking if she could buy her usual perfume, a nervous husband in the search for a gift, a mother with her fascinated daughter... There was one time when a girl was obviously trying to flirt with Lorenzo despite his efforts to get rid of her. The most remarkable incident wasn't that special either. Lorenzo would disagree of course. He had talked to the man! What a voice! One day, his crush and a friend of his (or so it seemed) stopped in front of the shop in a different hour than usual. Lorenzo swiftly went to greet them and ask them to come inside. Sadly, the beautiful man politely refused saying he had other business to attend to, but his friend happily accepted. Before leaving, the man said goodbye to his companion and then to Lorenzo specifically, calling him by his name. This only made Lorenzo blush. How did he know his name? After the initial shock and the man's departure, Lorenzo accompanied the other man, called Guglielmo, inside. There, Guglielmo asked to be attended by Bianca, because she had taken his order the first time he had come to the shop. Taking advantage of that and of the fact that there wasn't any other costumer in the shop, Lorenzo asked Giuliano to help him with something in the back room.

"Giuliano! He has the most wonderful voice I have ever heard. I could listen to him talk for hours. And he called me by my name!!" Lorenzo exclaimed very excited with the dreamiest face ever. Giuliano was sure his brother's eyes were sparkling in that moment. "How did he know? Do you think...?"

"You know, my dear brother," Giuliano interrupted him putting an arm around Lorenzo's neck fondly. "That you have a badge with your name on it, don't you?" He said teasing him and playing with Lorenzo's name tag. 

"Oh..." 

That was the only thing Lorenzo managed to say out loud. His embarrassment was very obvious and visible all over his face. Giuliano's laughter didn't help one bit.

That day on their way home, Lorenzo explained what happened to Bianca. She teased him a bit too, but she was determined to help his little brother with his love life. So, a couple days later she came up with a plan, which consisted on Lorenzo starting a conversation with the man with the excuse of handing out free perfume samples on the street. Lorenzo's intentions would be disguised this way. However, unbeknownst to her brothers she had vital information given by his boyfriend, Guglielmo, who was in fact the brother of Lorenzo's crush, Francesco. But, that information was top secret and so was his relationship with Guglielmo.

The next day at the hour H, as Bianca had called it, Giulano and Lorenzo were giving the samples on street when Francesco appeared. Giuliano was busy talking to two girls who seemed more interested in him than in the product he was offering them. Taking advantage of the fact that his brother's attention wasn't focused on him, Lorenzo went straight to the beautiful man when he was close enough to the shop.

"Hi! Try our new prod..." Lorenzo said extending the perfume sample to him.

"Thanks." Francesco replied taking it without stopping.

Lorenzo watched him go disappointed in the outcome of their brief exchange. However, this failure wouldn't stop him. He would try it again the next day. Lorenzo turned to face his brother who was still with those girls, but Giuliano saw Lorenzo shake his head negatively, which meant the plan hadn't worked.

"It's okay. You'll get him next time." Giuliano reassured Lorenzo patting his back, when he finally managed to get rid of those girls.

The following week the outcome remained the same with the small difference that one time Francesco apologized for being in a hurry. Lorenzo was still hopeful, but he needed to try something. He needed to be sure. He asked Bianca to take his place on the street the following three weeks whereas he and Giuliano would rotate. The results of Lorenzo's little experiment ended up showing that Francesco always took the samples from Lorenzo if he was available. If he wasn't he would kindly take them from Bianca, but never from Giuliano. This fact annoyed Giuliano even when he said on several occasions that he didn't care what that prick thought or did. He had the impression the man was mocking him. Despite Francesco displaying a preference towards Lorenzo, Lorenzo hadn't had the opportunity to start a conversation with him yet. What was he supposed to do?

The back room of the perfumery had become the siblings HQ. There, Lorenzo, Giuliano and Bianca discussed the results they had obtained during the day. However, Lorenzo asked the other two to call the plan off. They weren't getting anywhere. Okay. Maybe the man preferred Lorenzo of the three siblings. But, that didn't mean anything. If they continued giving free samples until there was some significant development, they would go bankrupt! Lorenzo couldn't allow that. Not for his selfish and stupid reasons. Bianca disagreed at an alarming speed. She convinced them that they couldn't give up now.

"I have a new addition to the plan. It can only work once, so, Lorenzo, you don't have to worry about going bankrupt. However, we can only attempt it when you are sure it will work," Bianca explained under the curious stares of his brothers. "You will give Francesco a card with your phone number on it along with a free perfume sample."

"Who's Francesco?" Giuliano added.

"Is that his name? How do you know it?" Lorenzo asked intrigued.

"Well... I..." Bianca tried to come up with a plausible excuse." I saw he had the logo of the Pazzi Bank on the back of his phone. I thought that it was a weird thing to have unless it was his work phone. Then, I googled the staff of the bank and searching deeper I found... "She couldn't tell them that she knew his name because Francesco was his boyfriend's brother"

"Pazzi... Francesco..."Lorenzo murmured while trying to connect the information bits. "Wait! Francesco as in Francesco Pazzi?! The head of the Pazzi Bank?" He was entering in panic mode now. "How come any of us didn’t know?! He is one of the most influential people in all Florence. Who am I? He is so out of my league. I can't do this anymore. I can't go on with this! I can't..."

"He is filthy rich and we didn't even know! Way to go brother!" Giuliano exclaimed amused. "He can be your sugar daddy!"

"Giuliano!" Bianca exclaimed back.

"Okay... Sugar boyfriend? Since you seem to be of the same age..." Giuliano continued.

"Giuliano, stop! Lorenzo, snap out of it!" Bianca shouted. "First, we didn't know it was him because he keeps his life very private. He doesn't post pictures of him online. I had to work my ass off to find one," Those facts were true. So, her lie was a believable one. "Second, we will do it one last time and that's final. What is the worst case scenario, Lorenzo?"

"A restraining order?" Giuliano answered before his brother.

"Giuliano don't mess with him, please." Bianca added quickly.

"If he doesn't phone me or text me," Lorenzo paused to think, "everything will remain the same. So, there's no harm in trying!" He said going back to his cheerful self. "Bianca you are the best!" He said as he went to hug her.

"Hey! What about your brother?!"

The next day no one was on the street when Francesco passed by the perfumery, because that was what they had agreed on. Lorenzo looked at him through the grass and sighed again. Francesco was a successful and gorgeous man whereas he partly owned a perfumery. It was one of the most famous in all Florence, yes, but it wasn't the Pazzi Bank. A pat on his shoulder brought him back to reality. It was Giuliano who offered him a piece of advice.

"Take all the time you need, brother. But, the sooner you do it, the better."

"I don't know..."

"I thought we were past this. Don't make me bring Bianca here. She would totally slap you if she heard you," Giuliano said the last part without an ounce of malice in his voice.

"Yeah, that's true." Lorenzo laughed a bit with that.

"That's the Lorenzo I know," Giuliano said as he patted his brother's shoulder again. "Even though your taste is questionable, I am with you," he smirked as he went back to the counter.

Lorenzo didn't say anything else in return, but he appreciated the gesture. He was also very thankful that his family was backing him with this situation. 

Then, it occurred to him that he would give Francesco a personalized fragrance just for him. This way it would feel more special. Lorenzo was sure that Bianca would like his idea, so he went to tell her immediately.

Knowing that Francesco was a banker and an important one nonetheless, the perfume had to be very balanced. The scent couldn't be too strong or too light. It had to linger, but without having a heavy presence on the air. Lorenzo thought about adding a couple of drops of rose water or similar fragrances to the hypothetical mix, but, in the end, he decided against it, because it didn't feel adequate for the person he was trying to represent with it. Fruity scents were also disregarded. Days passed and Lorenzo was still having a hard time picking the ingredients for his "love potion" as Giuliano has called it, but he was also having difficulties in finding a suitable name for the perfume.

"Have you already decided the fixative? Maybe you can use it as the body of the perfume," Bianca asked Lorenzo, who was in deep thought. 

"No, I can't find anything that says 'That's it'. I have this fear inside that tells me that I won't be able to find it." Lorenzo answered truthfully.

'I'm sure we can find something. Let me think..." Bianca said putting her fingers on her chin to exaggerate the gesture that she was indeed thinking.

"Have you tried with sweet sandalwood, brother?" Giuliano said after a few minutes of silence and, despite being directly involved in his siblings’ conversation. "It's a good fixative and it can be used as the main ingredient of your love potion."

"Actually... It hadn't occurred to me, since we mostly use it as oil..." Lorenzo pondered slowly.

"Oh! White florals go perfectly with it!" Bianca added excitedly. "Between the florals and the sandalwood it would feel like a forest."

With that, a light bulb lit up over Lorenzo's head. He had in his mind all the ingredients he needed for the perfume. All that was left was getting the right proportions. He had to work on it urgently. He even had a hint of the name of the fragrance. He had to make tests immediately.

"I think I have it. Thank you both! You're the best!" Lorenzo said loudly as he run towards their lab door to disappear afterwards. 

He spent three days to find the exact perfect combination of the three ingredients. Each one had its own meaning and purpose to the perfume. Sweet sandalwood made the white florals scent linger more, but it also had its own wooden smell. It is believed to attract money, to help the person relax and to prevent insomnia and anxiety. Lorenzo thought that these attributes fitted Francesco's job as a banker. Even if he didn't believe a 100% in these qualities actually working, they were a nice touch. Of course, he wouldn't tell a soul about the supposed aphrodisiac uses of the sandalwood. Nope. The second ingredient was orange blossom. It added freshness to the fragrance with its light citrus scent. It was associated with good luck, which was always important to have on your side when business was involved. This white floral combined perfectly with the second one, jasmine. This flower has a delicate aroma that is very distinctive and delicate. It was associates with love, beauty and sensuality, which were in agreement with the receiver of the perfume according to Lorenzo's totally objective point of view. 

While working in the lab nonstop, he came up with the name of the fragrance. He would call it 'Moonlight Forest'. The wooden smell of the sandalwood mixed with the orange blossom and the jasmine reminded of a forest at night. The name was even more fitting taking into account that Francesco's captivating eyes were brown, like the trunk of a tree, and the fact that he wore a black suit to work which was in contrast with his white skin, which could be metaphorically associated to the darkness of the night and the moon. Lorenzo's heart of a poet always showed when he chose the names of new perfumes. However, he had to admit to himself the Moonlight Forest was the most accurate name he had ever come up with. The perfume reminded him of Francesco in every aspect. The last step was sticking the handwritten label on the little flask. Lorenzo wrote on the backside of the Medici perfumery card his phone number and his name. In his opinion it a bit looked dull, so he added a smiley to make it friendlier.

"It is finished!!" Lorenzo shouted with a big smile as he opened the lab door.

"Now, you only need to give it to him, Romeo." Giuliano said from the behind counter.

"I know... I'll do it tomorrow, okay? Today is already too late." The older Medici answered a bit embarrassed, his cheeks slightly flushing.

"You know, I think he missed you" Bianca added. Her eyes focused on the order she was carefully wrapping. 

"WHAT?!" Lorenzo screeched completely red in the face. "What do you mean by that?" He asked attempting to regain his usual tone of voice, but failing.

"Francesco," Bianca paused. "When, he passed by, he looked at your spot behind the glass. I think he was looking for you."

"A... Are you sure, Bianca? Giuliano, did you notice this?"- Lorenzo asked 

"Well... I couldn't tell. You know, it's difficult with the face he always has." Then, Giuliano proceeded to exaggeratedly make Francesco's serious face. "See? It's impossible!"

"He doesn't do that." Lorenzo said too quickly.

"Oh brother..." Giuliano and Bianca said at the same time, which ended up in both laughing. Soon after, Lorenzo joined them.

Finally, the Day had come. It was all or nothing. Lorenzo had to do it today. He had the plan constantly in mind, but he couldn't help being nervous, which hadn't happened to him since he was a teenager. Lorenzo had to focus. It was simple, he could do it. He took a deep breath. Bianca and Giuliano had his back. All would be fine.

When the hour was near, Lorenzo and Bianca, who happily volunteered, went to their designated positions. Now, they only had to wait for Francesco to appear. While they were standing outside the shop, Lorenzo nervously played with the Moonlight Forest flask. 

"It will be fine. I'm sure," Bianca reassured him as soon as she noticed her brother's anxious movements. "Don't worry."

Lorenzo was about to thank her, but he spotted the famous banker at the end of the street. He took several deep breaths whereas he repeatedly went over the plan. It was the moment of the truth.

When Francesco was in front of the shop, Lorenzo went directly to him. This time he wouldn't fail.

"Hi! I'm Lorenzo de Medici, of the Medici Perfumery," Francesco wasn't stopping. "I need to talk to you! Please, it will be only a minute," Lorenzo said attempting to hide his desperation as best as he could. To his surprise, Francesco didn't step any further, so he continued speaking. "I'm giving you an exclusive brand new perfume, called Moonlight Forest, along with my phone number. I thought it would be nice to know your opinion..." What was he doing?! Everything was coming out wrong!

"Is that it?" Francesco asked cutting Lorenzo's rambling.

"Well... Actually, no." Okay, he was back on track. Lorenzo closed his eyes to be able to say his next words without any distraction. "I thought it would be nice if we could get to know each other a bit. You seem like a very interesting person. Please, don't feel obligated to do anything. I just needed to do this. Oh, the perfume is for you." Lorenzo stressed that last part so Francesco could understand the fragrance was exclusively made for him.  
Lorenzo opened his eyes at the sound of Francesco's soft laughter. His face was reddening out of embarrassment. He took a step back. But when he was about to mutter an apology and go back to his sister's side, the beautiful man started talking.

"I thought you would never actually do it!" Francesco said half teasing as he took the card and the perfume. Did he sound half relieved too? "My name is Francesco Pazzi, by the way," Lorenzo was too shocked to acknowledge what was happening. "I don't have much time to talk to you now," He said looking at his watch and he started to walk away slowly, "but, how about I pick you up tomorrow when you close the shop? We can have a cup of coffee or dinner. You choose. I'll text you later to confirm it. Bye!" With that, Francesco turned his back to Lorenzo and resumed his fast paced walk to the Pazzi Bank.

Lorenzo couldn't utter a word. He could only see Francesco silhouette fade away slowly in the distance. He couldn't believe what had happened. He managed to get a date with the most beautiful man he had ever seen despite making the worst confession ever. He just couldn't believe it. It couldn't be real. It had to be a dream. 

Little did Lorenzo know that Bianca knew exactly that this would be the outcome of the plan. Guglielmo had told her that his brother took a detour every morning when he had to go to the bank. It had taken her boyfriend some time to discover the reason behind it, but as soon as he knew he told Bianca. It was because he liked passing by the perfumery. To be more precise, Francesco walked an extra kilometre every morning to see Lorenzo. Guglielmo didn't know when or how exactly happened, but Francesco had developed a soft spot for Lorenzo, which he profusely denied having. Guglielmo also knew that his little brother was aware of Lorenzo's crush on him, but Francesco refused to take the first step. With this information, Bianca had no choice but come up with a ridiculous romantic plan for those two. Failure wasn't even a remote possibility.

Lorenzo heart almost stopped beating when his phone buzzed several minutes later. He had a new message from an unknown number.

"It was nice meeting you Lorenzo de Medici of the Medici Perfumery. So, coffee or dinner? - FP"

**Author's Note:**

> The wonderful Kael-san has created another incredible [work of art](https://kael-san.tumblr.com/post/189793036413/short-comic-page-in-a-manga-style-inspired-by-the) inspired in this fic. I'm absolutely in love with it! Please check it out and give Kael-san all the love in the world <3


End file.
